Transfigured
by whatisdeadmayneverwrite
Summary: Allie Hawsham, lost daughter of the infamous dark wizarding family arrives at modern Hogwarts with no knowledge of her true identity or what can do, and brings with her a cursed (unbeknownst to her) necklace that changes who she is.
1. Prologue

The apple sat atop the picnic table, completely still. Not even a light breeze attempting to knock it to the side. She sat in front of it, staring intently at its juicy red skin. It was a nice day in London, the sun was out and the temperature was nice. Children played in the park around her one hundred meters away, not close enough to break her concentration. The world could have stopped and she would not have known. She had done it once before. Just by staring, concentrating, getting angry, maybe. All that mattered is that she had done it before. She was sitting in the same spot, on a similar day and it just… happened. The apple exploded. She had thought that it was a child with a pellet gun but she was alone that day. She was determined to do it again, and had tried many times but could not pull the trigger. She wanted that power. To compensate for all the power and autonomy that had been taken from her. She wanted to feel powerful and strong, like a force to be reckoned with. She continued to stare at the apple. Making the decision, she began to count down from three. Three… Two… BOOM. A thick package of parchment landed on the table next to the apple. She opened the envelope and began to read. Boom. Apple exploded into one thousand little pieces. She finished the letter, grabbed her things, and ran from the park.


	2. Chapter I

Rosalie clutched her handbag, knuckles white. She was moving fast down a busy English street, quickly, she turned onto Charing Cross Road and entered a grungy looking pub. It was mostly empty other than a suspicious looking woman in the corner, and the bartender. She nervously approached the bar, then removed the piece of thick parchment from her bag and placed it on the counter. The bartender, a tall, slender man not much older than herself glanced at it, and then gave her a smile.

"First year? I think I know what you're looking for." He said, and led her to a door, his cloak billowing as he walked, removing a thin stick from his pocket, tapping on the lock and whispering unintelligibly. He put the stick back, and opened the door for her. Stepping through the doorway, Rosalie gasped. It was real. Completely real.

"When you get your wand, in order to get in, all you need to do is tap the lock with your wand. Or you can go to any payphone in the city and put a knut in the coin slot" He said.

"A knut?" she asked turning to face him, but he was gone.

In front of her was a bustling shopping district, a _magical_ shopping district. Stores lined the alley walls, and… wizards. Yes, wizards, in cloaks hurried about. In the window of the shop nearest to her were mysterious ingredients for potions, and across the way was a shop selling large pots. She made her way to a place called 'Gringotts' as the letter instructed her to, she saw the massive white building over the tops of the other shops. She entered into the lobby and gasped, instead of humans, short, grotesque creatures manned the telling stations. She slowly approached a desk clerk, and sat the letter down on the marble. The creature reached for the paper with his spindly fingers, and inspected it.

"Come" He said, rising from his seat. She followed him through a doorway that was labeled 'Conversions' and into the office of a middle aged human. The creature plopped the letter on the man's desk, and then left the room. Rosalie sat nervously gripping her handbag. The man smiled at her, and then pushed a crystal candy dish in her direction.

"The red ones are the best." He said, she slowly reached into the candy dish and took a candy wrapped in red. "I'm Ridling Claver, but just call me Mr. Ridling!" he continued happily. He picked up the letter.

"And you are… Ms. Rosalie Hawsham. How very nice to see you it is! We've been expecting you!" Then he picked up a quill and began to write on a slab that looked like a white legal pad. As he wrote, the words on the paper began to fade away, and more text appeared.

"First year, full blood… Are you in need of financial assistance?" he asked

"I have two-hundred pounds" she responded quietly, and then began removing the money from her purse, and placed it on his desk.

"That should be enough, but just in case" he said, and then began to write on a different pad of paper, that was the size of a sticky note. The words then slowly faded. Moments later, one of the creatures from the foyer entered holding a sack, and sat it on the desk. Mr. Ridling was writing again, then he began to dig in the drawers. He pulled out a small map of the Alley. Then, lifting up the first page on the pad, he pulled out the second page, which had a list on it.

"Here we are. Seventeen Galleons, forty-five sickles, and one-hundred knuts. Here is a map of Diagon Alley, and here is the list of supplies you need. Now let's get you a vault."

She left the bank and hurried down to the first store on her list, 'Flourish and Blotts', which was a bookstore. The store was full of mysterious books, and oddly titled shelves. Rosalie entered the store, and began scanning the aisles. She saw titles like 'Charming your Way to a Prettier Face', and 'Dragonslaying; Your Guide to the Fire'. A small woman approached her,

"Is there anything I can do for you, 'hun?" Rosalie handed her the list. "Ah! School books!" she said, and then quickly led her through the crowd of people to a display near the back counter. There was a sign on the display that said 'First Year Schoolbooks', which contained piles of red-velvet sacks, with either blue or white trim.

"Are you muggle born sweetheart?" The woman asked,

"I keep hearing that word… muggle… what is that?"

"Oh! You must be so confused! I'm so sorry doll. A muggle is someone who isn't magic. Just a normal human, so a muggle-born is someone whose parents aren't witches and wizards." The woman said, smiling sadly.

"My parents aren't… Like you…"

"Like us." She said, assumingly, and then grabbed one of the sacks with white trim. They walked together to the back counter, and the woman began writing on a pad similar to Mr. Ridling's.

"This will cost you five Galleons, which are the big gold ones" she said, and Rosalie began pulling them out of the sack.

"Miss, where are the second year books" Said a tall, pretty blonde girl from behind. Rosalie jumped, and dropped one of the Galleons.

"I'm sorry!" she said, noticing Rosalie, then noticing the velvet sack, asked "What year are you?

"First" She replied quietly. The girl was easily five-feet-eight-inches, and had perfectly curled blonde hair, with bright blue eyes, and defined cheekbones.

"Well, I'm Maxine, and maybe I'll see you around." She said, and then went to the display the short shopkeeper pointed to. Rosalie gave the woman the money, and then attempted to fit the books in her purse. The woman, noticing Rosalie's struggles, pulled out her wand, and muttered something . The books abruptly slid into the now seemingly endless bag, Rosalie looked up wide eyed at the woman.

"Undetectable Extension charm" She said, and then began to shoo Rosalie away to get the rest of her supplies.

"The man at that… 'Gringotts' place said that I was 'full blood'… what does that mean?" She asked,

"That means that both of your parents are wizards… But you said your parents were muggles?" She asked in confusion.

"They are… my dad's a priest…"

"I don't know then 'hun" Rosalie sadly left, she went to all the shops until only one thing was left. The wand. She made her way to a shop called Ollivanders. Inside there were stacks and stacks of long, thin boxes. A young man ushered her forward, and then inspected her, he circled her, measured between her eyes, and then pricked her with a pin and tasted the blood.

"Ah. You are an odd one, a thinker, you're methodical, will do whatever it takes to succeed, while you're reserved, there's a wildness about you. You're more powerful than you think…" Then he rushed out to the back of the store and returned carrying an extremely dusty box. "Made nearly fifty years ago by Ollivander himself." He purred, then pulled out an aged purple box, took the top off, and removed a long thin stick.

"Swish it" he said while handing it to her. She lightly waved the stick, and black mist emanated from the tip of the wand, filling the room.

 _"_ _Adelphine" He said his voice gruff and quiet, "Adelphine" this time, louder. A door opens, "Yes dear?" this time, a woman, "Do you need anything?" The sound of someone sitting up on a leather couch, "Adelphine… I'm sorry." Said the man, then a sigh, "This might be the end… I'm sorry". "The end?... What do you mean?" another sigh, "He's mad." and then a painful sounding cough. "Edythe! Bring us tea" she said. Minutes later, a door opens again, and the sound of glass clinking against a tray. "Thank you Edythe. Take the children out and let them on the swings." Said the woman, "Yes, of course" the door closes. The glass clinks again, "He's been mad before" she continued. Another sigh, "Not like this" another clink. Silence. "I love you" He said, "I love you too" she replied, and then a sigh._

The wand burned in her hand, the fiery sensation travelled up her arms and into her chest, and then with a crack, the mist disappeared. Rosalie stood in terror, goose bumps pimpled her skin, and tears began to well in her eyes.

"Only a perfectly matched wand can bring forth so great an emotional response such as a memory… You are a lucky witch" he said in awe, "Twelve inches, Pine, Phoenix Tailfeather, Unyielding… A deadly combination… Use it well." She paid for the wand and exited the shop still shaken.

"What just happened?" She asked herself, "Today is ridiculous, this is a dream!" She made her way to Florean Fortescue's, and sat down at one of the patio tables. Taking her time to catch her breath and clear her mind. Checking her purse, she had four of the large gold coins, and six of the smaller silver coins left.

"Hey doll, do you want some company?" A familiar voice said. Rosalie looked up, Maxine and two girls were sitting down at the table with her. "This is Lellie" She said pointing at girl with black hair, and tan skin, she looked very italian, "And this is Paige" pointing at the petite redhead with big round green eyes, a perfect nose, and natural rose colored lips. They sat in front of her like dolls, perfect skin, flawless hair, impeccable figures, and great clothes. Rosalie pressed back into her seat, and meekly spoke.

"I'm Rosalie."

"That's such a pretty name!" They cooed, she relaxed a bit; they weren't here to belittle her.

"What house are you in?" Lellie asked,

"Lel, she's obviously a first year. I mean, it's not a bad thing, we were all first years once." Maxine said, and sensing Rosalies confusion, she continued. "All the students are sorted by personality or something into different houses, you live, go to classes, and eat meals with the other members of your house. Well, technically we're allowed sit with people from the other houses during breakfast and lunch, just not dinner. We're all in a house called Slytherin."

"What is… Slytherin like?"

"Well, people give us a bad rep for all being _dark wizards_ , which is kind of bullshit. Some of us aren't the nicest, but we aren't maniacal killers like they say. It's fun. No better or worse than the others, but your house doesn't matter as much as it used to so I wouldn't get upset if you don't get the one you want" Paige explained,

"Shit. What time is it?" Maxine asked the group, Rosalie pulled her phone out and glanced at it,

"Two-thirty" Rosalie answered, the girls gasped at the device.

"Is that a cell phone?!" Lellie whispered,

"Yes?"

"I've never been this close to one" Paige cooed, "How does it work?"

"Umm.. I don't know the specifics, but we build these big towers that send out a signal and phone just picks it up." Rosalie replied, feeling more comfortable discussing something she's familiar with.

"That's really cool. Muggle stuff is so weird" Lellie said smiling.

"My dad said I have to check in with him every few hours, Rosie, do you want to come with us? It's just up knockturn alley." Rosalie smiled, she had never been given a nickname before! This could be my chance to finally be myself, she thought, she had always been restrained by her father's rules 'ladies aren't sarcastic' and 'ladies should be quiet and reserved' she could finally defy him. It hurt her a bit, these thoughts she was having, her father had only shown her love and compassion, and wanted the best for her despite their troubled relationship. She sighed, smiled again, and made the decision to accept this world as her own.

"Absolutely, and actually, call me Alli"

Knockturn Alley was similar to Diagon Alley in that it housed shops to buy magical items and supplies, yet, Knockturn Alley was different, darker, and gave Rosalie, or as it was now, Alli a sense of foreboding. She walked with the girls past suspicious looking people as they made their way deeper and deeper into its depths. They stopped in front of a large store called Borgin and Burkes.

"You guys can wait outside if you want, I know the store gives Paige the creeps" Maxine said before prancing inside. For a few moments the girls made idle conversation, talking about hair care spells and summer flings. Then the two girls excused themselves to go to the bathroom inside the store, leaving Alli outside, alone. She was standing awkwardly when she noticed a street vendor eyeing her curiously. He was well dressed, and probably in his mid thirties, and wasn't bad looking.

"You're new here." he said, his voice smooth.

"And why do you ask that" She said attempting to make herself sound more confident. The man didn't _look_ scary, he didn't seem like a paedophile or a murderer, but she was uneasy, but who _wouldn't_ be given the circumstances.

"It wasn't a question" Her throat tightened.

"I suppose you know my name and my telephone number too don't you?" she said sarcastically, trying to ease the tension. He looked confused for a moment, and then muttered something about 'muggle borns', but his face snapped back to serious quickly.

"Come. I have something that might interest you." and for some reason, she did. His cart was covered in various objects, glass jars of various eyeballs, a weathered black music box, a pitcher of a thick muddy looking liquid that seemed to bubble indefinitely surrounded by small cap-able potion flasks. He pulled a medium sized purple box from the depths of the cart and placed it in front of her. She cautiously removed the top off of the box and pushed aside the tattered tissue paper to reveal a necklace. The chain was made of a silvery metal, and was connected to a large stone the size of a small coin that seemed to be a different color with every angle you looked at it, which was surrounded by a circle of white gemstones. She stood mesmerized by its unique beauty.

"It is an amulet of potential. It will help you to become the best and most powerful you can be. It will help you shed your fake persona, and meet your true potential... for only five sickles" Alli touched the stone, and her finger began to tingle and she felt a sense of euphoria. She quickly paid the man, rewrapped the necklace, put the box in her purse, and rushed inside Borgin and Burkes.


	3. Chapter II

The store looked old and worn, with dust covering the many shelves, and various oddities sat atop the dust. Alli heard indistinct chatter from somewhere in the store, and followed the sound. She found herself in front of an old wooden door, and she lightly knocked. Moments later, her vision filled with light, the door was open, and a middle aged man stood in front of her.

"Dad, that's Alli!" He smiled and moved out of the way so that she could enter. Now, she stood in a modern looking office; the man closed the door and sat down behind the desk.

"I'm Thomas Borgin, Max's father if you couldn't tell." Maxine and her father looked strikingly similar, with one distinct difference, Maxine had platinum blonde hair, similar to Alli's own, while her father had hair dark as night.

"I'm Ro- Alli Hawsham" his eyes lit up

"I know the Hawshams! Well, used to. Cassius and his mother Ade-"

"My parents are muggles actually" she said interrupting, his face fell for a moment, and then a smile again.

"Well, I suppose that's good. The magical Hawshams weren't very good… Well, actually, they were terrible people, they were on Voldemort's side with my father." and again, his smile faded.

"Dad, you're boring her, she doesn't even know what half that stuff is." Maxine interjected smiling, Paige and Lellie laughed.

"Ah, I forget that not all of us grew up around this. I apologize." A soft tapping reverberated throughout the room. Mister Borgin stood quickly and opened what looked like a mail slot that was embedded into the wall. A thick piece of parchment fell into his hands. He inspected it, and then handed it to Paige. Her eyes scanned the paper and finally looked up,

"My mom wants me to come home and finish packing for tomorrow. Let's go Lellie. See you guys tomorrow!" Paige grabbed Lellies wrist, and in an instant, they were gone. Alli's jaw dropped.

"I see Paige got her apparition license this summer" Mister Borgin said, "when you turn eighteen, you can take a course on 'apparition', its a very fast way to travel, just think of where you want to go, and poof. That's very oversimplified of course."

"Are you going to take me to Kings Cross tomorrow?" Maxine asked,

"No, I have a meeting at 7:30, you'll have to gone alone I guess" Maxine frowned, then her eyes lit up.

"I'm going to take you to Kings Cross tomorrow!" Maxine said quickly, fumbling over her words. "You can spend the night too! It'll be perfect! Let's go." And Alli was dragged out of the store. Then her stomach dropped, and her vision went black. She felt her foot touch her head, then her ankle touch her knee. A large amount of pressure was squeezing the sides of her head, then her neck, stomach, hips, thighs, and feet. An instant later, her vision returned. She was standing with Maxine in a large bedroom, it was painted tiffany blue with a large queen size mattress against the far wall. Posters of guys lined the walls, and a pretty white vanity sat in the corner.

"Woah. Where are we?" Alli asked, the dizziness was slowly fading,

"My bedroom silly!" Maxine replied, and then a moment later, "Wait, you mean like, in the world? We're still in Covent Gardens. My dad deals in both muggle and magical business, so we live in the city."

"What was your dad talking about with the 'magical Hawshams'?" Allie asked looking around at Max's huge bedroom.

"Like 40 or 50 years ago this really powerful wizard started killing a bunch of muggle born wizards, like you. Well technically he did it twice but the gist is, a bunch of other really old wizarding families joined his cause, and one of those families were the Hawshams. They did a lot of really fucked up stuff, including help destroy our school. They rebuilt it of course but still. It was a really shitty thing to do."

"Was your family part of it?" Allie asked, worried that her question was inappropriate.

"My grandparents were. My dad was on the other side and fought for the ministry."

"The ministry?"

"The wizarding government. It was essentially destroyed after the whole wizarding war so they came together to completely revamp it. They moved the age you start Hogwarts to seventeen, kind of like University for muggles, and now you can do certain spells outside of school. Overall a much better system in my opinion." Maxine jumped into bed and plopped off her shoes. "Do you want some tea?"

"That sounds wonderful." She needed something to calm her nerves and help her understand everything that was happening.

"Watch this then!" Maxine said excitedly. "My father wrote this spell when he was at Hogwarts. He designed it so you don't have to use a wand or an incantation." She flicked her fingers at a tea set on her dresser. The platter with the cups rose up and floated across the room to the bed. Once it landed, steaming colored liquid began to rise from the bottom of the cups until they were full. Maxine lifted her cup up and began to drink. Allie looked at the platter with disbelief.

"Are you alright Allie?" She asked with concern in her voice.

"Holy shit. This did not just happen." Max laughed,

"Once you finish the cup, if you snap it will refill. I bet you could do that part, it is much easier than transfiguring it from scratch. You just have to focus on the empty cup and visualize a full one." Allie began to drink the tea.

"Wow this is great actually!" The warmth down her throat suddenly made her feel much better and a calm rushed over her. She climbed up onto the bed with Max, and took another drink.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Allie asked,

"Well, I was in your position last year. I didn't know anyone going into Hogwarts and it took me a while to make friends. You seemed really lost and confused so I thought, 'what the hell, what if she's really cool?' and I brought Lellie and Paige over to sit with you."

"Well thank you." Allie replied, "This has been so nerve wracking for me and it hasn't even started yet."

"It's just a school. There is drama and stuff but it isn't any scarier than muggle school."

"You went to a muggle school?" Allie asked.

"For a little while, my dad wanted me to be able to adjust. I left once my dad could start tutoring me in magic."

"Wow, I would not have expected that."

"I am almost done with my cup, do you want to try and refill it?"

"Sure. So I just think about it being refilled really hard and snap?" She asked nervously. Max nodded. Focusing on the cup, Allie imagined it being filled up just like it did when Max did it. She counted down in her head from three and snapped. The cup stayed empty, Max frowned.

"I wasn't really expecting it to work but it would have been cool if it did. You haven't even done wand work yet, why would you be able to-" Allie snapped a second time, cutting Max off, and the tea began to rise.

"You did it!" Max exclaimed, "That's so cool!" They both took sips from their newly filled cups and began their first night of bonding.

The morning came soon enough. The girls woke up at nine AM and they began to prep for the day. Allie tried to fill the tea cups herself while Max was in the shower. By nine thirty the girls had met up with Lellie and Paige in Diagon Alley for breakfast.

"The Leaky Cauldron is so grimy though, let's go to Plubotts!" Lellie said as they were trying to decide where to eat. The alley was even more busy than the day before, with hundreds of people coming in and out of stores buying supplies for the upcoming year.

"I don't care where we go but we need to hurry if we want to catch the train." Paige complained. The girls headed towards Plubotts, stopping every few steps due to the foot traffic, giving Allie a second chance to look at the items in the storefront. Finally, they arrived at the contemporary wizard bistro.

"Maxine! Come sit with us!" A voice called from across the room. The girls looked towards the origin of the voice, where a table of two men sat eating. They made their way over and sat down.

"How was your summer Max?" One of the men asked, he had dull grey eyes and very white teeth.

"Boring as always." She said smiling, "This is Allie Hawsham, she's a first year. Allie, this is Nat Purgeon." Allie reached out to shake his hand. "And this is Clement Botwright."

"I go by Clem." He said. He had dark brown hair and bright green eyes.

"They are in Slytherin with us." Paige added.

"Which house do you think you're going to get?" Clem asked, looking at Allie like he was reading her.

"She doesn't know, she's a muggle born!" Lellie said,

"But the Hawshams are a magic family?" Nat cut in,

"I guess I'm a different kind of Hawsham." Allie brushed her hair back behind her ears and smiled. The group ate together until it was time to leave. Maxine and Allie retrieved their things and braced for the stomaching twisting feeling of disapparating. The station was bigger than she had expected. Hundreds of people saying goodbye to their families, waiting to board to train. Allie had no one to say goodbye to, so she boarded as soon as she loaded her trunk. She found an empty room almost immediately. Staring out the window, she watched all the peculiar families say goodbye. Adult men in full length robes, hugging their children, mothers in bright colors dancing about. It was an odd sight.

"They're weird, huh?" Allie turned to see a tall attractive boy standing in the doorway.

"What?" She responded.

"The wizard parents. They're really weird. The non-muggle born wizards don't see it because it's what they're used to, but damn it's bizarre." He said, stepping into the room to let someone pass behind him in the corridor. "I'm Bennet."

"Allie. Nice to meet you."

"I'm going to call you 'first year'." He said, smirking. A look of confusion brushed across her face.

"Why?"

"Well, because you're a first year." Maxine, Paige, and Lellie appear behind Bennet and squeeze past him into the room.

"You found us an empty car!" Lellie sang, "Oh hi Bennet."

"I'll get going." Bennet said, raising his eyebrows at the content of the train car and not acknowledging the other girls.

"Ugh Ben is such an asshole. He acted like you didn't even exist." Paige sighed. Nat and Clem soon followed the girls into the train car.

"Hey Allie, do you get motion sickness? Because I have a spell that will fix it super fast." Nat asked smirking.

"Do not say yes to that. You'll end up with green skin or something." Paige responded, he gave her a fearful look then settled into talking with Clem about sports. The train lurched forward, there was no turning back. She was on her way to Hogwarts.


	4. Chapter III

Allie watched the scenery go by out the train window. The beautiful forests with their autumnal hues racing past. As they sprinted away from London and to the mystical world of magic and wonder she could not help but think back to what the man at the bank said. _'first year, full blood'_. It had to be a mistake, her parents were not magic. Why would they lie all these years? However, the information about the 'magical Hawshams' nagged at her until a welcome distraction presented itself. A seventh person had slid into their train car. A man on the shorter side with blonde hair and brown eyes.

"You must be Allie!" He said, startling her, she had not been listening to the conversation. "You are the one everyone is talking about!"

"What?" She asked,

"I'm Jack Honeycutt, second year." He slid down next to Nat and Clem and joined in their conversation. Allie learned over to Maxine,

"What is he talking about?"

"People probably heard that there is a 'Hawsham' on the train and assumed the worst." She said, yawning. "The wizarding world is small, so everybody knows everybody. It'll die down quickly." She hoped that Maxine was right. Allie returned to watching the scenery go by for the rest of the trip.

Getting off the train and into the giant castle that was Hogwarts was a blur of people and confusion. However, Allie now found herself in the most nerve wracking situation of her life. What are on the other side of these doors? She asked herself. What lies ahead at this magical school? She stood in a group of other new students, waiting to be let into the hall. Waiting to find out what house she would spend the next five years in. There was a nervous chatter among the crowd. She stood next to a small stringy brunette with olive skin who was humming to herself. The room where they were waiting was large, with huge vaulted ceilings and thick stone walls. Lanterns lined the walls illuminating the grand space. She wondered if the rest of the school was like this. A thunderous roar rippled through the crowd of first years as the doors to the great hall opened. They were herded into the room which was decorated with four long tables spanning the room. Large tapestries of various colors decorated the ceiling above each table. Then began the sorting process. Silas Bardsley was the first name called and he was sorted into Slytherin, then Ella Causey to Hufflepuff, and Flora Collingwood to Slytherin. Charity Devereux went to Gryffindoor, and the process went on.

"Rosalie Hawsham!" A silence fell over the crowd as she walked towards the sorting hat. She looked up at the ceiling, and there appeared to be stars glittering inside the hall. She approached the stool and felt her heart begin to race. The hat barely touched her head before it screamed 'Slytherin!" at the top of its lungs. A cheer erupted from the table with the green tapestry and she made her way towards her friends. The process continued.

"Esther Ecclestone!" The stringy brunette stood and made her way to the hat. She reached the stool and the hat was gently placed on top of her head. There was silence for a while. Longer than a while, the hat sat on her head for what felt like forever. She was on the verge of tears when it finally yelled its verdict.

"Slytherin!" Allie found herself participating in the cheer for the new member of her new house even though she felt that she hadn't earned the right to. After the sorting ceremony came to a close the feast began. The nerves had killed any appetite she had, so she watched her new friends eat and joke and talk the night away.

"I'm so glad you're with us!" Lellie sang, excitement ringing through her voice. She pulled Allie into a strong embrace.

"Why aren't you eating?" Clem asked her a few moments later. He had very rarely spoken around her, and she was startled.

"No appetite. I was so nervous."

"At least try the cherry pie" Jack cut in, shoving a slice onto a place in front of her. She nodded and took a small bite. All the anxiety washed away and a huge grin formed on her face. Her appetite came back and she was able to enjoy the honey glazed chicken, and roast potatoes that came her way.

"When will we get our trunks?" Allie asked the group.

"They will be there when get there tonight." Paige responded,

"And where is 'there'?"

"Our dormitories are in the dungeon." Nat said

"What?" Allie asked, surprised and confused at the same time.

"Don't worry doll, its cozy!" Lellie said with a huge grin. The feast was soon over and each house made their way to their respective common rooms. The Slytherin house squeezed down a tiny stairwell to get to the dungeons. A sigh of relief wafted through the line as the students entered into the warm room from the freezing corridor. The room was large and decorated with green tapestries. Lellie was correct however, it was not uncomfortable despite being a dungeon. Fighting off the exhaustion, she found her way to her bed, changed into her nightclothes and fell asleep.

She slept well for the first time in quite a while. She opened her eyes to light streaming in from the window, a gentle autumn breeze flowing through it. She had not seen her bedroom in the light before, so she inspected the room. Four four-poster beds were in the room, two still occupied. Allie rummaged in her trunk for her uniform, an ugly skirt and sweater, and her toothbrush and began to prepare for the day. Upon returning the items to her luggage, she happened upon the necklace she purchased from the street vendor, and slipped it in her skirt pocket. She made her way to the great hall for breakfast after. She spied her fellow first year Esther sitting alone at the table and sat down next to her. She sat quietly with her eyes closed, with no idea Allie was even there.

"Hey first year" Bennet sat down next to Allie with a muffin in one hand and a goblet in the other.

"Good morning." She replied, annoyed.

"How does it feel to be evil?" He smirked, then took a bite of his muffin.

"Excuse me?" Allie asked, genuinely confused at his comment.

"You're a Slytherin first year. Do you promise to tell me when the murderous urges start?" He asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Why? So you can run away?" She bit back.

"No. I like a challenge." He leaned in towards her. Allie was seething with anger. She had only been part of this house for twelve hours but she already felt a strong allegiance to it.

"Well you're going to get one." She leaned in towards him to call his bluff.

"I like where this is going." He smirked.

"Is he bothering you?" Clem asked from behind the two. They quickly pulled their faces away and Bennet stood up.

"Just some healthy trash talk to rile up the first years." And sauntered off out of the great hall. Clement sat down where Ben previously was.

"How did you sleep?" He asked, reaching some porridge.

"Really well actually. What about you?"

"Well they load the food down at the feast with herbs that make you sleep, so really well."

"Really?" Allie asked, surprised.

"No." He laughed, "they don't drug the students." Allie felt a tingle of embarrassment flush her cheeks.

"What classes do you have today?" He asked, still smirking.

"Charms, transfiguration, potions, and astronomy. Everything else is tomorrow and flying is Friday."

"Is there anything you are excited about?"

"Potions I think." She said. She reached for a goblet of fluid on the platter in front of her and took a sip. "Is this pumpkin juice?"

"I have never heard of anyone being excited for potions. And yeah, it is."

"Well I guess I'm just a huge nerd then." She laughed.

"You are too pretty to be a huge nerd-" He began to say, but was cut off by Jack Honeycutt slamming himself down at the table with them. He began throwing himself onto the table grabbing at the goblets and chugging them one after another.

"What the fuck is wrong with him?" Allie asked, concerned.

"Someone gave him a desert mouth candy. It absorbs all the moisture in your mouth and it takes forever to get it back." Nat said as he sat down with them. "I always tell him that he's too trusting." They continued their casual conversation as their friend writhed on the ground in pain.

"Are you going to play quidditch this year Clem?" a student that Allie didn't recognize asked from down the table.

"Quiddich?" Allie was beginning to get used to being completely lost all the time.

"Quiddich, my dear first year, is the greatest wizarding sport is history." A voice from behind her said. She turned and saw Bennet. Anger began to boil inside her. "And you are speaking to Gryffindor's Quiddich captain."

"Yeah I think I'll play again this year." Clem said, Bennet smiled.

"Finally, some damn good competition. First year, your friend here is the best fucking keeper I have ever seen."

"What's a keeper?"

"You, my dear first year", Bennet says, pointing at Allie, and walking away. She sneered at him.

"A keeper is a player who keeps the balls from going into the hoops so the other team doesn't score." Clem explained.

"Like a goalie?" The others in the group stared blankly at Allie.

"Looks like it's time to head to class." Nat said, rising from his seat at the table. The rest of the group followed suit, leaving the hall to start the first day of a new term.

Potions was Allies last class during the day, and it was in the dungeons by the common room. The potions classroom was not as comfortable as the warm common room. A horrible draft whipped at their clothes and sent shivers down the student's spines. She was at a table with Esther Ecclestone and Flora Collingwood, who were her roommates. The room was quiet save for a few whispers among students. A tall skinny woman entered, her hair was wiry and stringy and wild.

"I am Vertiline Lockwood, your potions instructor." She said as she slinked across the room to the front. "I am also the head of house Slytherin" She flicked her finger and a piece of chalk began to write the things she was saying on the board behind her.

"Potions are the physical manifestations of magic." She started concocting something at her workstation, "Fairy wings, morning dew, fresh rose, unicorn hair" She was mumbling to herself as she worked. Finally, she finished and drank the potion. In an instant, the woman who stood before them was gone, and was replaced by a very beautiful woman.

"Each step and ingredient plays an important part of that manifestation. If I were to have used the wrong number of fairy wings in that beautification potion, I would be a ball of sludge… There is one step that is different between 2 potions. One that removes your ability to talk for the rest of your life, and another that makes you babble like an idiot.". She returns to her workstation and concocts a second potion, which makes her look normal again.

"Potions, are the most meticulous magic." She cleans off her workstation and retrieves the textbook from her desk. "If you make a single mistake… It could be deadly." The students stared at her in a combination of horror and awe.

"Alright, turn to page twelve, we will be making a simple potion to cure boils."


End file.
